Tobacco container



Dec." 3, 1957 R. s. MCCONNELL 2,815,143

I TOBACCO CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14, 1954 INVENTOR 1?. 8311186 0 nn ZZ ATTORNEYS States Patent Gfiiice 2,815,143 Patented Dec. 3, 1957 TOBACCO CONTAINER Ralph S. McConnell, Silver Spring, Md. Application October 14, 1954, Serial No. 462,263 4 Claims. (Cl. 217-12) This invention relates to a container for shipping and storage of various commodities, and pertains especially to the shipping and storage of tobacco.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a tobacco container which is collapsible, of light weight, very strong, and durable in usage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a collapsible tobacco container which is readily reusable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a container of the type described which occupies a minimum amount of space in use and is extremely compact when collapsed, the container therefore lending itself to considerable savings in hauling costs, both from the point of initial use and for the return shipment thereof for reuse.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a tobacco container of a construction to permit air vents, no matter how the containers are placed or stacked in storage, and at the same time raise the body of same above the floor level so that from almost any position the fork of a loading truck may be inserted beneath the container for conveying same without manual shifting.

Another advantage in the rectangular construction embodied in my invention as compared with the conventional old type of tobacco hogshead is that in shipping, the crates may be so firmly and closely nested as to prevent shifting or wracking of the containers to their damage and, thus arranged, a load may be made to convey subsantially fifty percent more merchandise than by the old method.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible shipping crate provided with a plurality of reinforcing elements hingedly connected together which coact to form a band to keep the box or crate together and serve to retain the end covers in place. And further, the elements also serve to stiffen the side panels and add strength to the crate.

Another object of this invention is to provide a plurality of cross-bars of the type referred to above which will permit the circulation of air around the sides of the crate and which provide ready access in case of fire which in turn results in a reduced fire rate. And still further, when the box or crate is standing on a side or an end, the cross-bars act as skids whereby the crate may be lifted by a fork truck thus eliminating dunnage.

This invention also contemplates the provision of means for maintaining the crate in its normal configuration during the charging thereof with tobacco under extremely high pressure.

This invention has a still further object the provision of a crate of the type to which reference has been made wherein the loaded weight of the crate is not borne di rectly by the hinged cross-bars but instead is distributed along a pair of marginal edges of one of the panel or wall sections.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a container of the type described having a novel means for the closing thereof whereby the top and bottom lids are slidably positioned within the container and held fixed therein by any conventional fastening means until such time as it is desired to remove the contents of the container.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from a consideration of the following specification when read in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container constructed in accordance with this invention, the top and bottom covers thereof being omitted.

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view, partly in crosssection of the container shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section view taken on the horizontal plane of line 3--3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the vertical plane of line 44 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the container in its collapsed condition and nesting arrangement.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the upper portion of the container and illustrating a charging or filling form in position for loading the container.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the lower portion of the container and the dolly employed during the charging operation. 7

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 10 designates, in general, a container constructed in accordance with this invention. The container 10 comprises a pair of spaced, parallel front and rear walls 12 and 14, respectively, and spaced, parallel side walls 16, 18. The walls 12, 14, 16 and 18 may be formed of any suitable material, but for the purpose of the present invention plywood is preferable. The walls each have an elongated substantially rectangular configuration, the front and rear walls being equally dimensioned and the two side walls being of equal dimension, said side walls being slightly wider than the front and rear walls, or two thicknesses of material. wider, the front and rear Walls being mounted between the side walls.

The front wall 12 is provided with an elongated top cross-bar 20, a bottom cross-bar 22, and a centrally positioned cross-bar 24. The cross-bars 20, 22 and 24 are elongated and have a substantially rectangular con-' figuration. As is seen in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the upper Side 2% of the cross-bar 20 is flush with the upper end 12a of the wall 12, and the lower side 22a of the crossbar 22 is flush with the lower end 12b of the wall 12. Each end of the cross-bars is provided with inwardly extending channels 26 which receive a hinge plate 28 of a hinge generally indicated at 30. The hinge plate 28 is constructed of metal and is provided with apertures 32, 34 which are aligned with openings 36, 38 formed in the marginal edges at each side of the wall 12, and with passages 40, 42 formed in each cross-bar 21B, 22

and 24 at each end thereof. The apertures, openings and passages receive therethrough large headed bolts 44 threaded into nuts 46 positioned in counter-sunk recess 48 formed in the outer side of the cross-bars. Thus the cross-bars and the hinge plate are rigidly secured in position on the wall 12.

A pair of large headed bolts 44a, extend through suitable openings and passages formed in the cross-bars 20, 22 aand 24, and connect with nuts 46a positioned in counter-sunk recesses formed in the outer side of the cross-bars. The bolts 44a serve as reinforcing members and are evenly spaced inwardly from each end of their respective cross-bars.

A plurality of transversely extending elongated SUb'! stantially rectangular cross-bars 50, 51,52, 53, 54 and 55 are connected to the side and rear walls 14, 16 and 18 adjacent the upper ends thereof in the same manner asdescribed above. That is, a pair of large heade'd bolts 56, "58 :ateac'h end of these cross bars extend through openings 66, 62 formed in the -margin'al edges of side and rear walls 14, 16 and 18, and passthrough apertures formed in the second hinge plate 64 also formed of metal and disposed in grooves 66 extending inwardly from each end thereof, and the bolts continue through passages 68, 753 formed in the cross-bars "50, 51, '52, 53, '54 and-55 at each of their respective ends, the "bolts 56, 58 terminating in threaded connection with nuts 72, 74 seated in counter-sunk recesses 76; "'78 extending inwardly from the outer side of the cross-bars 5055, respectively. Pintle pins 77 detachably connect the adjacent barrel ends 79, 81 of the hinge plates together. Large headed reinforcing bolts 44b and counter-sunk nuts 46c spaced evenly inward from each end oft-he last-mentioned cross-bars serve as reinforcing elements as described above.

Each of the side and rear walls also have secured thereto intermediate their respective ends, a cross-bar 80,'identical to the bar 24, and the bars 24 and 80 have their respective adjacent ends pivotally connected as described.

As is seen in the drawings each of the cross-bars 5055 project beyond the ends of their respective side and rear walls, and the projections are provided with inwardly facing grooves 50a, 51a, 52a, 53a, 54a and 55a which extend their entire length and are adapted to slidably receive therein the top and bottom covers 82, 84 vzvzhich pass over the coplanar surfaces 12a, 20a and 12b,

In the use of this invention, the sides of the container are-placed in approximately the position shown in Figure 1, and the hinge pintles 77 are then inserted in the hinges to connect the plates 28 and 64 pivotally together. The bottom cover 84, is then slid into place in the grooves 53a, 54a and 55a.

The container with its upper end open is then placed on-a dolly 90 with the cross-bars 22, 53, 54 and 55 engaging the bed plate 94, and the latter is provided withasolid wood or metal rectangularinsert 96 which is adapted to telescope within the cross-bars 22, 53, 54 and 55 and to engage against the bottom cover 84 in supporting relationship.

Thereafter, the dolly 90 is wheeled to the loading or charging station at which time a charging or loading element 86 having a substantially hollow rigid rectangular configuration has its lower end telescoped between the cross-bars 50, 51 and 52 and rests on the upper ends of the front, rear and side walls. The front, rear and side walls 120, 122 and 124, respectively, are provided with laterally extending flanges 120a, 122a and 124a, respectively, which may be secured thereto by conventional means. The flanges are each provided with a depending locking plate 130 at each of their respective ends and a similar plate intermediate thereof. As is seen in Figure 6, the plates 130 overlap the cross-bars 20, 50, 51 and 52 to prevent distortion of the container at its upper end during the loading operation. The lateral flanges 120a, 122a and 124a are connected to their respective walls by the large headed bolts 132 and nuts 134.

Tobacco is loaded in the container 10 through the loading element 86 and the insert prevents the bottom cover from collapsing under the loading pressure of substantially sixty thousand pounds. When the container 10 is full and the tobacco pressed in, the element 86 is removed and the top cover 82 is then slid into the grooves 50a, 51a and 52a. Thereafter, the top cover 82 is locked in place by any suitable means such as a pair of spaced elongated bolts 102 which extend through openings 104 formed in a marginal edge of the cover 82 which is juxtaposed with respect to the cross-bar 20, and pass through passages 106 formed in the cross-bar 20 for threaded connection with the winged nuts 108. Similar bolts 110 passing through openings 112 formed in the bottom cover 84 and passages 114 are threaded into winged nuts 116 prior to the filling of the container 10.

The container may then be stored or shipped, as de sired.

Assuming that the container is now to be opened, the pintles 77 at either of the front wall corners of the container may be removed and the two halves thereof are pivoted away from each other on the pintle pins 77 located in the diagonally positioned corner.

After the contents of the container have been emptied, the covers are detached from the cross-bars associated therewith and the pintles '77 diagonally opposite the first pintles to be removed are now taken out to provide a front wall 12 hingedly connected with one of the side walls 16 or 18, and a rear wall 14 'hingedly connected with the remaining side wall. The two half container sections are then nested, as shown in Figure 5, and the cover members 82, 84 are superposed thereon.

When a filled container is to be placed in storage, the container is placed with one of its sides downwardly to provide a circulation of air between the cross-bars and below the side which has been placed in downward position. The cross-bars also serve to elevate the lowermost side wall above the floor of the storage plant thereby atfording means whereby the lifting fork of a lift truck may be inserted below the lowermost side wall thereby facilitating the handling of the container. The containers may be vertically stacked.

The present containerhas great advantages over the conventional type of tobacco hogshead in that approximately fifty boxes of tobacco may be shipped in a single railroad car as compared against approximately twenty conventional containers. Or, in the case of shipment by truck 32 of these containers may be hauled on one truck as against 21 conventional hogsheads. And finally, the container constructed in accordance with this invention will provide approximately 20% more storage floor space.

The present container has another great advantage over the conventional type of hogshead in that the cross-bars, acting also as skids, eliminate the use of conventional dunnage ordinarily used in the storage of hogsheads. With this container one man, operating a fork lift truck, may place the container in position for storage or remove the same from storage, thus eliminating the extra labor now required for placing loose dunnage in place and rolling the hogshead from the lift truck to final storage position. This feature of attached dunnage on the container makes it possible to remove a complete tier of boxes individually from their storage space without disturbing the immediate tier behind, which is not possible with present methods of storing hogsheads using loose dunnage.

Furthermore, when this container is loaded with tobacco and it is subjected to high pressure the tobacco remains in pressed position long enough to permit a quick sliding into place of the top cover 82. The tobacco then springs up against the top cover 82 thus holding the same tight within the grooves. The front edge of top cover 82 is then fastened by any conventional means, such as the bolts and wing nuts 102, 108 as illustrated.

Having described and illustrated-one embodiment of this invention in detail, it will be understood that the same is oifered merely by way of example, and that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A readily separable collapsible container comprising a generally rectangular front'wall, a generally rectangular rear 'wall, said front and rear walls having the same height and width, a pair of generally rectangular side walls with said side walls having the same height and width, hinges connecting adjacent edges of said front, rear and side Walls with said side Walls engaged against the respective side edges of said front and rear walls, a removable pintle in each of said hinges for detachably connecting said walls together, a transverse cross bar secured respectively to each of said walls intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, a lower transverse cross bar secured respectively to the lower ends of said rear wall and said side walls and extending therebelow, said lower transverse cross bars having grooves formed therein in aligned relation to the lower ends of said walls, an upper transverse cross bar secured respectively to the upper ends of said rear and said side walls and extending thereabove, said upper transverse cross bars having grooves formed therein in aligned relation to the upper ends of said walls, upper and lower cross bars secured to the upper and lower portions of said front wall in aligned relation respectively to the upper and lower edges of said front wall, a rectangular bottom cover slidably engaged in the grooves in said lower transverse cross bars in engagement with the lower ends of said walls, and a rectangular top cover slidably engaged in the grooves in said upper transverse cross bars in engagement with the upper ends of said walls.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein means are provided for detachably securing said top and bottom covers respectively to said top and bottom transverse cross bars on said front wall.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said hinges is engaged between said walls and one end of said cross bars, and a single means extending through said walls, said hinges and said cross bars secures said cross bars to said walls.

4. A knockdown container having separable walls adapted to encompass a quantity of material under pressure, said container being formed of front, rear and opposite side walls, an intermediate cross bar fixed to each wall medially between the ends thereof and on the outer faces thereof, an end cross bar fixed to each end of said front wall transversely of said front wall, the outer edge of each end cross bar being flush with the adjacent end. of said front wall, an end cross bar fixed to each end 6 of said opposite side and rear walls, said latter named cross bars having a substantial portion of the width there of projecting beyond the adjacent ends of said side and rear walls, each of said latter named cross oars having a longitudinal channel in the inner face then. f flush with the adjacent ends of said side and rear walls, a plurality of connecting members detachabiy connecting adjacent walls together, each connecting member comprising a pair of plates, the plates of each of said connecting members having a portion thereof projecting beyond the adjacent edge of a wall, interengaging barrels formed on the adjacent projecting portions of each pair of plates, a pintle removably engaged in said barrels detachably securing said walls together, a rectangular cover slidably engaged in the channels at each end of said container, the front portion of each cover overlapping the outer edge of an adjacent end cross bar on said front wall, and a bolt removably engaging through the overlapping cover portion and said last named end cross bar, the opposite vertical edges of said side walls bearing against the opposite side portions of the inner faces of said front and rear walls whereby said connecting members will normally hold adjacent walls at substantially right angles to each other, the projecting portions of the end cross bars secured to said side and rear walls forming a space beyond the outer face of an adjacent cover whereby the lower ones of said end cross bars will admit the projecting arms of a lifting fork beneath the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 584,044 Little June 8, 1897 1,051,572 Gell Jan. 28, 1.913 1,361,823 Buehl Dec. 14, 1920 1,490,558 Dunning Apr. 15, 1924 1,661,527 DeBoer Mar. 6, 1928 1,723,293 Mielziner Aug. 6, 1929 2,276,374 Derman Mar. 17, 1942 2,651,431 Johnson Sept. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 486,395 France Jan. 8, 1918 442,198 Italy Nov. 17, 1948 

